The right to clean and fresh water
04 April, 2011 | Southwest News-Herald
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear EarthTalk®:
Recently the UN voted to declare access to safe and clean
water a “human right.” Isn’t that a no-brainer? What are the
ramifications of this declaration?
-- P. James, Boston, MA
campaigned hard for, and stressed the need to recognize access to
safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right as global
supplies of fresh water get fewer and farther between.
“Approximately one out of every eight people does not have
drinking water,” Solon told reporters. “In just one day, more than
200 million hours of the time used by women is spent collecting and
transporting water for their homes.” According to the declaration,
approximately 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.
“The lack of sanitation is even worse, because it affects 2.6 billion
people [or] 40 percent of the global population,” Solon said, citing a
2009 World Health Organization and UNICEF study which found
some 24,000 children in developing countries were dying each day
from preventable causes like diarrhea resulting from polluted water.
“This means that a child dies every three-and-a-half seconds,”
added Solon.
The resolution itself carries no regulatory weight, but backers view it
as important to raising awareness of the problem and engendering
support for solutions. “We are calling for actions…in communities
around the world to ensure that the rights to water and sanitation are
implemented,” said Anil Naidoo of the Council of Canadians, a
group that has been crucial in the international struggle for the right
to clean water. “Governments, aid agencies and the UN must take
their responsibilities seriously,” he added.
Some developed countries — including the U.S., Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and several European nations — tried to
block passage of the resolution in hopes of minimizing their future
obligations. As one official from the United Kingdom put it, these
countries “don’t want to pay for the toilets in Africa.” Also, six
African countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania
and Zambia) and two in the Caribbean (Guyana and
Trinidad/Tobago) — all former European colonies — joined efforts
to try to kill the declaration. But when it was time to vote, these
nations abstained so as not to go on record as opposing it.
“This matters because we are a planet running out of water,” said
Maude Barlow, an expert affiliated with the Council of Canadians
as well as the Blue Planet Project and Food and Water Watch.
Indeed, a still-growing human population, global warming and other
factors combine to make fresh water supplies scarcer around the
world. A recent World Bank study predicted that demand for fresh
water will exceed supply by some 40 percent within just two
decades. While the UN resolution may not move any mountains, it
is a step in the right direction for the world’s increasing number of
have-nots.
Courtesy
04 April, 2011 | Southwest News-Herald
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear EarthTalk®:
Recently the UN voted to declare access to safe and clean
water a “human right.” Isn’t that a no-brainer? What are the
ramifications of this declaration?
-- P. James, Boston, MA
- In July 2010 the United Nations (UN)
agreed to a new resolution declaring the
human right to “safe and clean drinking
water and sanitation.” One hundred
twenty-two nations voted in favor of the
resolution; 41 (primarily developed)
countries abstained; and there were zero
“no” votes. The agreement comes on the
heels of a protracted effort on the part of
Bolivia and 30 other (mostly developing)
nations determined to improve access to
clean water and proper sanitation
systems for the poorer human residents
of the planet.
- Bolivia’s Permanent Representative to
campaigned hard for, and stressed the need to recognize access to
safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right as global
supplies of fresh water get fewer and farther between.
“Approximately one out of every eight people does not have
drinking water,” Solon told reporters. “In just one day, more than
200 million hours of the time used by women is spent collecting and
transporting water for their homes.” According to the declaration,
approximately 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.
“The lack of sanitation is even worse, because it affects 2.6 billion
people [or] 40 percent of the global population,” Solon said, citing a
2009 World Health Organization and UNICEF study which found
some 24,000 children in developing countries were dying each day
from preventable causes like diarrhea resulting from polluted water.
“This means that a child dies every three-and-a-half seconds,”
added Solon.
The resolution itself carries no regulatory weight, but backers view it
as important to raising awareness of the problem and engendering
support for solutions. “We are calling for actions…in communities
around the world to ensure that the rights to water and sanitation are
implemented,” said Anil Naidoo of the Council of Canadians, a
group that has been crucial in the international struggle for the right
to clean water. “Governments, aid agencies and the UN must take
their responsibilities seriously,” he added.
Some developed countries — including the U.S., Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and several European nations — tried to
block passage of the resolution in hopes of minimizing their future
obligations. As one official from the United Kingdom put it, these
countries “don’t want to pay for the toilets in Africa.” Also, six
African countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania
and Zambia) and two in the Caribbean (Guyana and
Trinidad/Tobago) — all former European colonies — joined efforts
to try to kill the declaration. But when it was time to vote, these
nations abstained so as not to go on record as opposing it.
“This matters because we are a planet running out of water,” said
Maude Barlow, an expert affiliated with the Council of Canadians
as well as the Blue Planet Project and Food and Water Watch.
Indeed, a still-growing human population, global warming and other
factors combine to make fresh water supplies scarcer around the
world. A recent World Bank study predicted that demand for fresh
water will exceed supply by some 40 percent within just two
decades. While the UN resolution may not move any mountains, it
is a step in the right direction for the world’s increasing number of
have-nots.
Courtesy
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